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Anne Rice on the Vampire Chronicles
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Anne Rice, a name synonymous with one of the oldest legends in the world. What began as “what if” and a short story, ended as one the single greatest collections of immortal lore ever written. The Vampire Chronicles is without a doubt the most highly recognized authority on the subject over the past 100 years. Anne Rice is one the most read and celebrated authors of our time, and from her short story, Interview with a Vampire, which later spawned the novel; we were given one of the greatest vampire stories of all time. The film was incredible, as it only could have been with Mrs. Rice herself writing the script, and it gave birth to the elegance and tragedy that is the vampire legend.
Anne Rice was kind enough to answer a few questions for me and I can without reserve that she is the most interesting and intellectual author that I have ever met.
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Q: What inspired you to write you vampire novels?
The vampire novels were inspired by a whim. I wanted to "interview a vampire" about what it was like to be him. I wanted to know. And I wrote a short story which then grew into a novel.
Q: What about the Vampire legend appealed to you?
What interested me about vampires was the idea that they were powerful outsiders who lived a life of darkness and yet persevered. I wanted to explore the idea of a tragic monster, who was more human than monster, and I saw in that creature a metaphor for the outsider in all of us. And this metaphor seemed rich and exciting.
Q: What was your favorite to write?
Memnoch the Devil was my favorite of the Chronicles to write, because I felt it really broke new ground in terms of ideas as well as the emotional life of the characters. It was very challenging and it contained a number of parts. I had not had Lestat visited by a ghost before, or by an angel, and this was new and interesting to me.
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Q: How did you feel about your books becoming major motion pictures?
Especially “Interview with a Vampire” which was and still is a very popular
book and film?
Seeing Interview with the Vampire made into a film was painful for me because I cared so much about the emotional heart of the work, but it was ultimately satisfying. My script was used and I think the film was a great film. It has enduring value. And new people discover it all the time.
Q: Do you have a favorite vampire film?
My favorite vampire film will always be Dracula's Daughter with Gloria Holden, which I saw as a child at the neighborhood theatre and which I loved, for its treatment of the vampire as a tragic aristocrat, a person of sensibility and suffering.
Q: What do you think about the direction that the vampire legend has taken over
the past few years?
I am intrigued by the direction the vampire legend has taken. I think the teen vampire romance, Twilight, was a curious film in many respects, one obviously made for 12 year olds, and it presents a very tame picture of the vampire and one that does not entirely make sense. We are to believe that a group of immortals choose to life in a tiny town rather than a metropolis, and that they go to high school over and over again, which certainly sounds horrible. But obviously this appeals to very young kids and the vampire, Edward, is charming, and strong, and is a powerful metaphor for the outsider and also he represents what teenagers dream of: a boyfriend who is really deep and caring and powerful and protective. In a way, it is about a young girl's desire for an older man.
True Blood, the HBO series, is infinitely more complex. The show is clever, satirical and yet deeply involving. It is full of humor and yet its characters have tender and emotional scenes. I find it very engaging and fun to watch. Obviously it has too much sex and violence for very young teens. But for an adult audience, it is an amazing development in the vampire mythology, putting the vampires right into the mainstream of the modern world. I like the show. I think the vampire Bill is the usual metaphor for the outsider and the sensitive outcast who suffers. He's excellent.
